Teamsters Holding Off Presidential Endorsement Until Harris Meeting, Union President Says

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the United States, wants Vice President Kamala Harris to meet with them before the group decides whether to endorse the presidential candidate for the November race.
When asked whether there were any concerns about Harris being potentially less pro-labor and less pro-union than Biden, O’Brien replied that everyone has a different leadership style and the union wants the “opportunity to sit down with Vice President Harris.”
“I said to someone the other day, you don’t hire someone unless you give them an interview. And you know, this is our opportunity to ask her about Teamster-specific issues and also labor issues. So until we have that meeting, you know, obviously we will wait to make that determination,” he told the outlet.
In his CBS interview, the Teamsters leader said the union asked both Democrats and Republicans for an opportunity for him to speak at their conventions.
“The Republican National Convention immediately responded to us. Didn’t try and edit any of our messages, and I was hopeful that the Democrats would do the same, but they didn’t,” he said.
“I’m not upset about it, but I can tell you this, my rank and file members, who have been lifelong Democrats, are not happy about it.”
Out of the 1.3 million members in the union, half are Republicans, with the other half Democrats, he noted.
He went on to characterize Trump as a billionaire who “stands against everything our union stands for.”
Meanwhile, the former president secured the backing of police associations for his second term in office.
“President Trump’s history of support for the men and women of Law Enforcement is unmatched,” the association said. “His policies and actions were directed at improving safety in our communities and the men and women who provide that shield. He has earned and deserves our wholehearted support.”
The group accused the administration of being anti-competitive and inflationary which it says undermines “taxpayer investments in America’s infrastructure, ABC is looking forward to working with a president who is willing to welcome all of the U.S. construction industry to rebuild America,” the group wrote in a letter to the Trump campaign.